Some Time Afterwards, An Indian Woman Of A Good Person And Handsome Countenance Joined Us, Who Spoke The Language Of Jamaica, Which Is The Same With That Spoken In Cuba.

She told us that she had left Jamaica two years before in a canoe, with her husband and nine other men, intending to fish at certain islands; but the currents had driven them to this place, where the natives sacrificed her husband and all her other companions.

Expecting that this woman might prevail on the natives to return to the town, Grijalva sent her away for that purpose, allowing two days for her return, but she came back next day, saying that none of them could be prevailed upon to come. At this place, named Santa Cruz, we found a great deal of honey in hives, several kinds of vegetables, such as boniatos and potatoes, and many hogs of the country, having their navel on their backs. There are two smaller towns on this island, which we did not visit, being unwilling to lose time. Following the course of Cordova, we arrived in eight days at Champoton[1], where we cast anchor a league from the shore, on account of the water being very shoal at low ebbs. We disembarked with half of our soldiers close to the town, and the natives remembering their former success against us, attacked us immediately with much military parade. From our former experience, we took care to be well prepared on this occasion, and accordingly had our boats armed with falconets[2]. Half of our men were wounded before we could reach the shore: But having formed on the beach, and being reinforced by a second disembarkation, we soon defeated them, on which they fled to the marshes; yet we lost three of our men, our captain receiving three arrows, and having two of his teeth knocked out. On entering the town after the defeat of the natives, we found it entirely deserted, the inhabitants having likewise removed all their effects. We took three prisoners, whom we endeavoured to reconcile by kind usage, and sent them with a message to bring back their countrymen; but they never returned, and we suspected our interpreters of dealing treacherously so as to counteract our wishes. The field in which we fought with these Indians was very stony, and swarmed prodigiously with locusts, and these animals sprung up in such numbers during the action, striking us in the face, that we hardly knew when to raise our shields in our defence, or whether it was locusts or arrows which flew about us, they were so mixed together.

After staying four days in Champoton, we pursued our voyage to what appeared the entrance of a large river; but Alaminos insisted that it was the termination of a large island, on which account this inlet was called Boca de Terminos. Grijalva went on shore with several officers and a party of soldiers, to examine the bay and the adjacent country, where they found several temples containing idols of clay and wood, some like women, and others like serpents.

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